The outcome was hardly a surprise. Schiavone, ranked 28th in the
world and seeded 17th in the tourney, was a tough first-round draw.
In May, she toppled Serena Williams in the second round at
Rome.

"I was a little nervous, and I didn't really calm down," said
Spears, who was playing for the first time at the La Costa stadium
court, where she was once a ball-girl. "I just made more
errors."

In the first set, Schiavone looked almost helpless against
Spears' serve, which frequently topped 106 miles per hour. But she
eventually broke serve to go up 4-2 and turn the tide in the
match.

"I didn't place them or pop them like I had been," Spears said.
"I got a little tight that game because I knew it was a huge game.
I definitely didn't feel like I was aggressive enough."

Hampered by a poor return serve, Spears didn't challenge much
the rest of the way.

Spears and teammate Lisa McShea return to action today with a
second-round doubles match against Nana Miyagi and Lilia Osterloh
in the fourth afternoon match on the grandstand court.

National obligations

China is a country of more than one billion people, yet when the
WTA tour descends on Guangzho in late September, not one of them
will be on the court.

Why? For the same reason that Shuai Peng, who made the biggest
splash of Tuesday's competition with a 7-5, 6-4 upset win over
Elena Dementieva, is playing in just 14 tournaments this year: the
tour schedule conflicts with the Chinese Olympics.

The promising 19-year old had not played on the tour in almost
two months.

She missed Wimbledon because of her participation in the games,
which has sessions in March, June and October. Because of the
Olympics, no Chinese player will play in a WTA event after the
China Open concludes in Beijing on Sept. 25.

Peng, who is ranked 46th in the world, admitted balancing her
professional aspirations with what her country's tennis federation
requires of her can be "tough."

Monday night at a Youth Tennis San Diego function here, it was
announced that Lee and Steve Booth had donated $2 million to the
Barnes Tennis Center.

Part of the money will help continue and expand the Barnes'
outreach program, which currently operates on 84 sites in San Diego
County, from Oceanside to the Mexican border. Most are in
low-income areas.

Jelena Jankoic, the tournament's 11th seed, received an early
first-round scare from Amy Frazier but recovered to win 7-5, 6-0.
Having less trouble was 10th seed Nathalie Dechy, who dispatched
Kristina Brandi 6-2, 6-2.

Sania Mirza, a sensation in her native India who qualified for
the tourney on Sunday, notched a first-round main draw win, topping
Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-2.